Ryan MacMorris
Fall and winter are the two seasons where you can really show your fashion chops as a man. Cardigans, cable knit sweaters and things like wool topcoats replace the light suits and short sleeve button-ups of summer and give you many more opportunities to appear stylish and fashionable.
Fall and winter also usher in a whole new color palette for your garments while allowing you to layer much more than seasons like summer allow. The changing of seasons means that you can do away with the flip flops and short sleeves of warmer weather and can start to really experiment with all the textures and layers that winter has to offer. The tie is a great piece to use in order to set your cold weather style apart from others by letting you tread the careful line between casual and formal when wearing things like chunky sweaters and larger knits.
In this article I’ll be going through some of the opportunities that winter and fall afford you style-wise, and how to best take advantage of them.
Specifically we will look at how to wear ties in fall and winter for the maximum stylish impact. The new ways to wear any of your clothes in winter can really be separated into two categories, the new color choices and the new texture choices.
Textures
With all of the layers and different fabrics that the winter affords you to wear there are a multitude of ways to complement and contrast them with each other. The biggest new fabric for the colder months is wool.
Wool sweaters, wool suits and wool ties abound in the winter and while it can be tempting to wear all wool for the season’s entirety, switching things up will have you looking extra fashionable. With that said, woolen and silk ties will definitely be your go-to ties for the season, and most likely for both seasons.
Woolen Ties can add textural sophistication to your ensemble and really leave you looking extremely dapper. Courtesy of www.soletopia.com
An easy way to switch up and contrast your textures is with a sweater. Chunkier knits, cable knits and slub cardigans will make a silk tie truly pop, but this look is best saved for more casual settings, like afterwork drinks or weekend outings. If you are looking to stay more formal a sweater can still be a great way to break up the textures in an outfit.
Finer gauge sweaters like merino wool and cashmere work well with both ends of the texture spectrum in creating a contrast as they occupy a slightly different texture.
A silk tie with a finer knit sweater will still look much smoother and stand out, while a more textured woolen or wool blend tie will look rougher in contrast to the fine gauge; top this all of with a wool suit jacket and you will have either three wonderfully contrasting textures in your outfit or two matching and one contrasting texture.
Either way your outfit will be both warm and well coordinated as far as texture goes, whether you choose to contrast a smooth silk tie with a chunky cardigan or to wear a sweater beneath your suit jacket to layer multiple textures.
A sweater with your suit can really elevate your dapper sensibilities come Fall and Winter time. Courtesy of www.articlesofstyle.com
One last thing to note about wearing sweaters with ties is that while a tie looks great poking out of nearly any type of sweater the sweater vest is still mostly off limits. In addition to the sweater vest, chunkier knits should be avoided when paired with a suit jacket because of the bulk they can add to an outfit unless properly tailored.
Colors
Fall and winter are the times when muted neutral colors and colors that resemble the changing leaves become increasingly more present.
Greys, browns, and neutral darker tones begin to make up the bulk of your wardrobe which can become truly monotonous if not done correctly. These neutral tones however are easy to match and coordinate with one another making fall and winter outfits look stylishly effortless in many respects.
When wearing a tie in winter the main colors you will see are those very same neutral greys, browns, and muted greens. These are all the perfect colors to mix and match with different textures and combinations, but if you are looking to stand out with your winter wardrobe you can mix up some things with less common colors and plaids.
The Dark Knot's extensive silk tie collection can be viewed by color here, where we have a filtered search according to a range of criteria, including tie colors, patterns, matching suits and shirts and even the type of occasion that you are attending!
Plaid is one of the classic menswear patterns that becomes a star in both autumn and winter. With origins in some of the colder countries plaid is a go-to pattern for ties during the winter months.
A wool or silk plaid tie can bring extra color to an outfit while still keeping with the dark and deeper neutral tones that are usually worn in winter and fall. When wearing plaids try to match one of the colors in the tie another color already in your outfit as well as the texture of the tie to another texture already present in your outfit. This will make the plaid tie pull together the elements of your outfit to form a cohesive color palette.
The Dark Knot's range of plaid silk ties can be viewed here.
While winter and fall may be characterized by colors like dark greys, deep reds, and muted greens that doesn’t mean you can’t use color to make an outfit pop. Some of the colors associated with a winter wardrobe can actually look great when paired with a louder color.
Colorful socks or loud ties are a great way to bring some color to an otherwise wintry outfit while still remaining “in season”. If you truly want to turn heads with your color choices then look at some of the trending colors on the runway, colors like mustard and turquoise can be tougher to match but will look great in these darker months.
Ties with non conventional colors such as Turquoise or Mustard Yellow can really spice up your Winter Wardrobe, such as The Dark Knot's Berkshire Abstract Navy Tie Above. Courtesy of www.dandyinthebronx.com
How to wear ties in fall and winter can be summed up relatively simply if you already have an eye for fashion’s details and color combinations. The main points are to use sweaters to create a contrast of textures and to use plaids and unusual colors when you can to break up the dark monotony. Winter colors are easy to get bogged down in, but you can also bring some brightness and interest to an outfit with a new color or texture.
And that's a wrap for this one! What are your favorite ties to wear during the Fall and Winter months? We would love to hear your comments below.
The Dark Knot's Fall & Winter Ties Collection can be viewed here.
